Rushing Oceans, melting hearts
by poetsheart
Summary: After a long hiatus, the Ocean Master is back and ready to stand up from the ruins of her life and stand victorious. From the darkness of his own heart, Seto has to make a choice. Continue to live a life of possessive solitude, or step out into the uncontrollable waves.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: it has been so long since I stepped foot into this world, it seems like a dream. I have finally found my love for reading and writing again, and I will finally appease the muse that has been whispering these stories in my ears for years.

I do not own Yu gi, Oh or it's characters, just mine. I also do not own any of the duel monster cards mentioned save for the ones I made up. I am sure you can figure out which ones.

* * *

People milled around her like antsy little, well, ants, and as they jostled her from every side, she stood calmly waiting for Battle City to start. When the fancy blue and white invitation landed in her mail box a week ago, she was surprised, to say the least. Ever since she declined the duelist kingdom invite, she had never received another invitation until now. She was even more surprised to have received an invitation that was hand signed by Seto Kaiba himself. Glancing at the clock tower on her left, she continued to wait in growing anticipation for the tournament to begin.

"Hey!" someone yelled from behind her. They were not addressing her so she did not bother to look.

"Hey!" this time the shout was closer and someone tapped her on her back. She looked over her shoulder and arched her eyebrow at the person behind her. She could only assume that his name was Weevil Underwood. The bug inspired paraphernalia gave him away.

"Hey!" he said louder, making her want to clap his ears in response.

"Yes?" she asked with barely any infliction in her voice.

"Didn't you used to be somebody?" he asked with a sneer.

"I could ask you the same question" was her retort before she stepped away from him.

Yes, she was somebody at one point. Many knew her name and would cheer it from the stands as she dueled some chump into submission. But then tragedy struck and she when from being somebody to nobody. It was a personal choice she had made, but it didn't mean that it was an easy one. Still, she was here now, ready to rekindle the flame of love for duel monsters. When Weevil attempted to speak to her again, a dark and gravelly voice filled the sky, silencing him.

"Greetings Duelists!"

She looked up and saw Seto Kaiba face on a jumbo screen in the sky. Everyone stopped talking to listen to what their host had to say. She tuned it out as it was mostly all the crap she had read about in the thousand page manual he had sent everyone. She already knew how to play the game. She just wanted to start playing it already. She looked around at her competition and noted that there were only a handful of duelists that she was certain would give her a challenge. That was fine, however, that meant that she could duel the chumps, then duel the real elite in the battle city finals. Lost in her thoughts, she did not realize the tournament had begun until an arm snaked around her waist. Glairing over her shoulder, she saw a big burly man, clad in all leather, leering down at her.

"Hey baby," he whispered in what he assumed was a seductive voice, "Wanna just give me your locator cards now? I'll give you a mustache ride and a free, hard, pounding."

She deftly side stepped his hold and turned to face him. "Let's duel" was all she said.

"Oh come on baby, a pretty little red-haired thing like you don't wanna get hurt now. Come on, let me make you feel good sad thing. This isn't a place for a little luscious thing like you."

"You done? Good. I just challenged you. By Battle city rules, you now have to duel me. "With that, she activated her duel disk.

"Alright baby, but if I win, I get to touch every bodaciouscurve,facedown" he said, practically drooling.

"And if I win, I get to kick you in those big balls you think you have" she replied.

He stopped smiling and his face darkened with anger. He was not used to women talking to him in such manner. He snarled as he drew his cards and she looked placidly back at him.

"If you were my woman, I'd smack the shit out of you. Maybe I'll include that in our foreplay later."

"Charming" she said, rolling her eyes at him.

A small crowd had gathered around them and from the light pole, a camera blinked to life. From behind the camera, a tall figure clad in a white trench coat watched the duel with an air of anticipation. She obviously was oblivious to this as she looked at her hand. She was not paying particular attention to the biker man as he ranted about his card, Bikers dream, that was apparently about to bring her to her knees. He then reinforced his card with a magic card, to raise its attack points from 1600 to 1900. When he ended his turn she looked up and him and shook her head.

"Is that all you have?" she taunted.

"What do ya mean?" he snarled.

She shook her head. "I play Maiden of the Aqua in defense mode. This cards special ability prohibits you from using your magic card to strengthen any other monsters. I then place face-down and end my turn. "

When he summoned scapegoat and sacrificed his monster and one scapegoat to summon a stronger monster with an attach strength of 2300, she was not surprised. It was the logical next move. He was very predictable. However, that is what she wanted. Facing someone like him in her first round was a way to make sure her skills were not rusty. It had been a long while since she had played the game. When the man then attacked her Maiden of the Aqua, he was in for a surprise.

"I activate Drowning Mirror force. Your attack is canceled and all monsters in attach mode on your side of the field must be shuffled into your deck". His face clouded over with anger and mummers filled the air as the crowd around them looked on.

"Damn it. I still have my scape goats!" he snarled as he shuffled his deck.

"Mmm hmm. My turn. I activate mystical typhoon to wipe out all spell cards on the field. Bye, bye little goats." He looked pissed as they dispersed, leaving him wide open for an attack.

"Next, I summon Lord of the Aqua to the Field in attack mode, and switch Maiden of the Aqua in attack mode. When these two are summoned to the field, Lord of the Aqua's special ability is activated. I can now summon Mecha Sea Dragon Plesion from my deck to the field." The biker eyes grew wide when he saw the attack points of the sea monster.

"Now, Mecha Sea dragon, attack his life points directly!"

2300 life points were deducted from his life points.

"Now, Lord of the aqua, attack his life points!"

1900 life points were deducted from his life points and he fell to his knees.

"I lost…I lost" he said over and over as she approached him.

"Remember what I said I would do If I won?" she asked, glaring down at him. He covered his balls with his hands and started crying. She rolled her eyes at him and snatched his locator card and his Bikers dream spell card.

"Lucky for you, I'm not in the nut cracking mood" and she turned and walked away from the blubbering mess that was formally a man. On the light pole, the camera turned, following her.

Back at the Kaiba corporation headquarters, Mokuba stared at the screen dumbfounded. Kaiba looked passively at the screen before turning his eyes to another screen to watch his arch rival walk away from his own duel. _Someday, and someday soon Yugi, I will beat you._

"Seto?" Mokuba asked, tugging on his brother's coat.

"What is it?" the elder Kaiba asked, raising his eyebrow impatiently down at his brother.

"Who is that?" He asked, pointing to the computer monitor as a curvy red head walked away from a crying man in leather.

"That is the Ocean Master." Kaiba said with a small smirk.

"Really? That's her? Everyone thought she fell off the face of the earth!" Mokuba asked excitedly.

"In a way she did," Kaiba said thoughtfully, "But I found her. Luckily, she has not lost her dueling skills in her two hear hiatus from duel monsters."

As he watched her turn to face another enthusiastic opponent, he could not help but wonder how far she would make it. Hopefully, the great Sharleen Durest, Ocean Master, would make it to the semifinals. He would very much like to meet her. _If she doesn't_ , he thought, _then she is not worth my time._


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: it has been so long since I stepped foot into this world, it seems like a dream. I have finally found my love for reading and writing again, and I will finally appease the muse that has been whispering these stories in my ears for years.

I do not own Yu gi Oh or it's characters, just mine. I also do not own any of the duel monster cards mentioned save for the ones I made up. I am sure you can figure out which ones.

Night fell over the face of domino city, bathing it in a sparkly gold red glow. A lone figure sat on a lowly wooden bench, gazing at the sun fading into the dark blue waters. After several moments the figure slowly gathered herself up and moved with a purpose down the streets of domino, looking for the Kaiba corporation dome. After winning all of the needed locator cards Sharleen had activated the duel disk, found the location of the finals, and took her time making her way to the dome. She had achieved her goal early on in the competition, with each duel being easier than the last. She was getting her duel groove back. A shadow of a smile ghosted crossed her face as the thought crossed her mind. It had been a long time since she had smiled.

The breeze was cool and soothing, a balm to her still healing heart. As the dome came into view, her hair whipped around her faster, causing her to look up to find out why the wind had suddenly picked up. A helicopter with the KC logo flew overhead rapidly. From behind her, a car horn blared and she barely jumped out of the way as a car driven by a slutty looking blond and full of an odd assortment of students barreled passed her, then slowed down dramatically with a squeal of tires.

"What the fuck?" she muttered, glaring at the short spiky haired teenager heading her way.

"Hey! Are you alright?" he asked when he reached her. His arm held a duel disk as well. It took her a moment of awkward staring (awkward for the boy since she couldn't care less) and a moment for her heartbeat to die down to recognize him.

"You're Yugi Muto" she murmured.

"Uh, yeah, I am" he said with an adorably awkward smile. "Who are you?"

"Sharleen Durest" she reached her hand out to shake his.

"Oh wow! Really? The Ocean Master?" He gushed as he grabbed her hand to shake it like a crazed fan boy.

"That is what I was called," she stated with little infliction in her voice.

"Really, you are the Ocean Master?" a tall shaggy haired blonde spoke up from behind the boy, looking awed.

"I believe I just confirmed that. You all are duelist. I assume you are heading for the KC dome?" she asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, would you like to ride with us?" The busty blonde asked with a smile that resembled a smirk.

"That would be…lovely" she said with an attempt at a real smile.

While her smile creeped them out, they agreed to let her ride with them. As she sat, pretty much hanging on for dear life on the bumper as the crazy blonde bitch drove, she could not hope but think that this was her last chance to grab the former glory she once loved basking in. Although, to be honest, she is not sure if she was happy with her choice to join this tournament. The only reason she had decided to join was because her father had insisted.

" _Come on Sharleen, oh I swear in this moment, this means everything!" he had sang to her from his hospital bed. She had cracked a rare smile at how silly he was._

" _Seriously though," he said with a smile, "you need this, and you made a promise." He had a shadow of sadness passing over his face before he suppressed it._

" _I know Daddy" she said quietly._

 _Her brother, Davie, was her whole world, and she his. Although they were several years apart, they were inseparable. Davie worshiped the ground his sister walked on. She could do no wrong in his eyes. She often thought of him as the center of her universe. Before her father's cancer had settled in to his liver, she had acted as his older sister, mother, and father. She was the center of his universe. They were a magnetic force that could not be rivaled by any sun and planet. She taught him everything he knew, feed him, helped him with his homework, and brought him to every duel monster tournament she had ever participated in. When she lost him to Leukemia, she had shattered into a million little pieces and had withdrawn herself from the world. When her father had fallen ill shortly after, she had picked herself up from the ashes and started to rebuild herself. She had another sibling and father to take care of._

"Sharleen?" a voice interrupted her dream like state. She looked up into the concerned violet eyes of Yugi Muto.

"Sorry. Someone walked over my grave" she said quietly before jumping off the back of the car. Without looking back at the ragtag team, she entered the dome. As she approached, the man himself, Seto Kaiba looked back at her. He watched her the entire time she interacted with his body guards. _There she is,_ he thought, _besides Yugi, she is one I am looking forward to dueling, god card or no god card._ She noticed his stare and looked right back him, causing him to make an exasperated noise and look way. She rolled her eyes and walked away.

Some drama occurred between the large group she had traveled her with and a new comer named Merick. She did not pay attention as it had nothing to do with her. Maybe she as selfish like that, but she really had no emotional ability to involve herself in anyone else's drama. She had enough shit to deal with on her own. As she watch the blimp descend from the sky, she told herself to just focus on the battles a head of her. She proceeded to walk toward the air ship and waited behind the large group of teenagers who were arguing themselves onto the ship. After the younger Kaiba allowed them passage, she was finally able to board. As she made her way to her room to toss her shoulder bag inside, she felt a presence behind her. She stopped mid stride, and looked behind her.

"I know who you are." Seto Kaiba said menacingly.

She stared at him for a moment taking in his appearance. He wore a long white trench coat that was open enough to reveal his muscular chest tightly encased in a black spandex turtle neck. Her eyes traveled from his feet, passed over his handsome face and settled on his piercing blue eyes.

"I know who you are." She said blandly.

"Everyone knows who I am" he said bluntly, without a blink, "but who knows who you are?"

"You. Yugi. That Wheeler kid. Me. What is your point?"

"I am looking forward to this." He said, smirking as he walked past.

"You just earned some creepy points." She said as she swiped her key card on her door. He looked back at her, briefly startled. "You suck at flirting." She quipped before entering her room.

Once she was inside, she threw her bag on a large bed in the corner of the room. The room was large and equipped with many amenities. The bathroom was larger than she expected and the view was incredible. The lights from Domino city twinkled beautifully from the huge portal windows that lined her room. She did not have time to enjoy the view as she was summoned to the second floor. As she made her way there, she fell behind what Seto Kaiba had deemed the "geek squad", with the man himself in the lead. As she entered room full of food, glass windows, and a weird blue eyes contraption in the front, she took a deep breath, mentally getting herself ready for the battled away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

I do not own Yu gi Oh or its characters, just mine. I also do not own any of the duel monster cards mentioned save for the ones I made up. I am sure you can figure out which ones.

I did my best to keep the characters true to their, well, character. I am striving to make Sharleen a believable character and not a Mary-sue type. I used to duel in competitions when I was kid, and hope that I stayed true to the rules of the game, without bending any of them, except for the rules that were already bent in the show. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense.

* * *

The view from the blimp was breathtaking. Sharleen had never seen so many stars in her life. As they hovered over the city, she saw the bright twinkling lights below that usually covered up the night sky that was now visible in all its majestic wonder. From a distance, Kaiba watched the reflection on the glass of her emerald green eyes light up at the sight. He remembered the days he felt the same way about views such as this. It almost made him wistful. Almost. He directed his attention to Adious, his newest bodyguard, who was cowering before him. The man was shaking like a leaf as he apologized, again, for screwing up the locator card numbers. There should only be 8 duelists in the finals, not 9. To be fair, Wheeler did enter the contest, even though Kaiba had specifically fixed it so he couldn't, but that was still no excuse. He cut off the groveling man's chatter with a menacing look.

"I'll fix this. Like I always do." He said before stomping past a very upset Adious.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sharleen watched Kaiba stalk up to one of his henchmen and start speaking to him in a hushed voice. His commanding figure stood out amongst all the people in the room. She sighed as she looked away from him and back out to the view. _A man that good looking should not have that horrible of a personality,_ she thought, feeling her cheeks heat up a little. When she was a young duelist, she had looked up to the famous Seto Kaiba. She had watched all of his duels, copied his strategies until she had discovered her own, and had even gone to a poster/whatever you were willing to pay for, signing that he had held when he was just 12 years old.

 _It was her birthday and she had saved for a month to buy that stupid Blue Eyes key chain. She was so excited when she finally had enough money to buy it and to attend the gathering at Domino City mall, where Seto Kaiba was going to be. She was determined to get to that line early to have him sign that light up key chain. At 4am on her birthday, she woke up, got dressed in her favorite blue skirt and flowery shirt, fussed over her hair, then tiptoed passed her parents room so that she would not wake them. Her parents and Davie were fast asleep, and would probably stay that way until she got back, though Davie had wanted to go with her. She figured he needed to sleep more then he needed to go meet her crush._

 _The walk from her house to the mall was short, and she was too excited to really notice what was going on around her. As she practically skipped to the mall, she could not help grinning from ear to ear. That grin was short lived. When she arrived at the mall, the line was already wrapped a block around. Sighing, she got in the back of the line, ready to wait as long as it took to meet Seto Kaiba._

"Hey!" someone said behind her, breaking her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at the obnoxious blonde male.

"You don't need to stand around all alone like. You can join us!" he said, beaming at her and waving his hand at his friends.

She hesitated. She was not exactly a social person and was unsure as to whether or not this was a good idea. Before she could speak, however, a rather indigent voice yelled, "Hey, let me go already!" Her head whipped around and she saw a small red headed boy looking up at Kaiba with fear in his eyes.

"Jordan!" she said, her voice booming through the now silent room.

"Oh, uh, hey sissy!" he chirped brightly.

"This is your brother?" Kaiba asked with a raised brow.

"Yes," she answered, sounding bewildered, "How did you get here Jordan?"

Jordan looked at the two figures towering over him, demanding answers, and he started to cry. Through his tears, he told "Mr. Kaiba" that all he ever wanted in the whole wide world was to see his sister duel. He then told Sharleen that he had ditched day care, followed her around all day, and had stowed away on the blimp when no one was looking.

"I did not even see you," she murmured, upset and worried about her father's reaction. Her brother should have been dropped off at the hospital hours ago.

"Pretty impressive for a 6 year old." Kaiba said, actually sounding impressed.

Sharleen knelt before her brother and said, "That does not change the fact that you left daycare, followed me around like a stalker, and then did not return to the….hospital. Dad must be going crazy right now looking for you!" she looked him in the eyes. "You know that dad has probably called the police by now right?"

Jordan began to cry in earnest. She sighed and scooped him up in her arms. As he cried it out on her shoulder, Kaiba did something surprising. He reached into his coat and held out what looked like a satellite phone.

"Call your dad. We won't be stopping this trip for anything, but at least he will know your brother is safe."

Shocked, Sharleen stuttered out a thank you, set Jordan down, and moved to a more private area to make her call. As the phone rang, she tapped her fingers nervously in her elbow, anxiously waiting for her father to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" her father's tearful voice came on the line.

"Daddy, do I have a story to tell you."

After a few minutes of conversation, her father calmed down, and they even laughed together over what a trouble maker Jordan was. Eventually, her father told her to keep an eye on him and that he would make all the necessary calls needed to clean up the manhunt for his son. She felt terrible that he had to do all of that when he was sick in the hospital, but it could not be helped. She had already abused Kaiba hospitality by using an expensive sat phone and did not want to ask him to let her use it for a dozen phone calls. As she walked to Kaiba to return the phone, she heard her little brother say,

"Yeah, she stutters when she see hot guys."

Her face was on FIRE when she returned the phone without looking at Kaiba. Jordan was only 6 years old, but damn! Did he have to be such a loud mouth? She had not stuttered that bad! She turned to him and informed him that he would be staying with her-he cheered- but that there would be serious consequences when he got home. His eyes got big at that statement, but his happiness at being with his big sister seemed to override that fear. Sharleen shook her head at him as she ruffled his hair. What was she going to do with him?

"Now that this drama is over, let's begin the Battle city pre-game round!" Kaiba announced from the stage at the front of the room.

"Hey rich boy," Joey shouted indignantly through a mouth full of food, "Waddaya mean pre game round?"

Kaiba gave the boy a disgusted look before he continued, "We have 9 duelist and only 8 can enter the Battle City final rounds. As such, names will be drawn at random to determine who faces off to secure a spot in the battle city finals."

There was a large amount of murmuring in the small crowd of people as Kaiba reached into a box to draw out the names. After looking over the slips of paper he said, "The pre-game round will begin. Sharleen Durest with face Joey Wheeler!"

Joey nearly choked on his food while Jordan bounced happily by his sister's side. "Sissy is going to duel!" he shouted with delight. Sharleen smiled at her brother, gave him a quick hug, and made her way to the center of the room. Joey faced her on the other side, with most of the inhabitants of the room standing behind him, and Jordan, Kaiba and Mokuba standing behind her. They shuffled each other's decks, with Joey making bullheaded remarks and Sharleen remaining silent,before they faced off.

" I go first!" Joey said, drawing a card. "Aright! First I summon Baby Dragon to the field, in attack mode, and lay one card face down on the field. Your turn!"

Sharleen drew a card, contemplated, and then made her move. "I place Maiden of the Aqua in attack mode. I then place one card face-down and end my turn".

"Too easy! I thought you were the Ocean Master? Well let's see if you sink or swim!"

Sharleen rolled her eyes at him. "Just make your move."

"Aright, I summon Alligator Sword in attack mode. I also activate a magic card called Stamping destruction! It allows me to destroy your spell or trap card on the field and also inflict 500 damage to your life points!"

Her card disappeared in a digital haze of digital dust. Jordan gasped and looked at her worried. She smiled at him and made a funny face to make him giggle, before turning her attention back to Joey.

" What will you do now? Neither one of your monsters is stronger than the Aqua Maiden" she asked. He looked a little stumped for a second, then grinned.

"I'll place one card face down, end my turn and getcha next round".

Somewhere behind her, Kaiba snorted. She smiled briefly before she summoned Lord of the Aqua to the field.

"With both the Maiden of Aqua and the Lord of Aqua on the field, I can automatically summon Mecha Sea Dragon Plesion to the field in attack mode!" The hologram of the monster loomed up on the field, making Joey shrink back. She smiled. "Now, Lord of the Aqua, attack Baby Dragon now!"

"Not so fast!" Joey yelled, flipping his face down card on the field, "I activate the trap card Fairy Box! At the cost of 500 life points a turn, I can keep its effect activated. My monsters are now hidden inside the box. Every time you attack, your attack points are 0. Even if you manage to hit one of my monsters through one of the holes, you will destroy my monster, but you will lose as many life points as that monster has attack points!"

Luckily for Sharleen, her monster attacked an empty space. She sighed as she contemplated her next move. She still could attack two times, however, she might miss, or she might hit a monster and have to pay the price. She contemplated for a minute before placing a card face down, and ending her turn.

"I was hoping you would do that!" Joey shouted happily. "I now dispel my Fairy Box, sacrifice both my monsters, to summon Red Eyes black dragon. Red eyes! Attack her Aqua of Maiden now!"

Sharleen winced as her monster was wiped from the field and her Sea Dragon returned to her hand.

"Haha! You just lost your strongest monster!"

"Did I? I activate monster reborn to bring back my Maiden and therefore Mecha Sea Dragon!" Joey looked pissy as the two monsters returned to the field.

"Whatever, you are just delaying the final outcome," he scoffed as he tossed a card face down on the field and ended his turn.

Sharleen drew a card, smiled, and said, "Well, looks like this is where I win."

"Wha…?" Joey said, looking dumber than usual.

"I activate a magic card known as Majestic Sea. This card covers the field with water and boost my water monsters attack points by three hundred each." Joey's jaw dropped. "So, Mecha sea monster, attack his Red eyes now!"

The Mecha Sea dragon opened its jaws wide and in one gulp, swallowed Joey's Red eyes dragon. Both Joey and Sharleen looked surprised. Joey was surprised because his dragon had been eaten. Sharleen was surprised because she never would have thought that this would be the animation that the Kaiba Corporation would have chosen for her dragon. However, it did not matter. She attacked with Lord of the Aqua and he took a direct hit. His life points were now down to 1000. All she had to do was attack with her Maiden and she would win the duel.

"Activate my Scapegoats!" Joey yelled, as four fluffy goats appeared on the field.

Sharleen inwardly groaned as she just wanted to end this duel so she could move on with the finals. Apparently, he was going to drag this out as long as he could. She attacked one of his scapegoats, put a card face down, and ended her turn.

"Why didn't you do that before I destroyed your other monster or your life points?" she asked.

"Oh, haha," he rubbed the back of his head, "I forgot I had it on the field."

"What a joke" Kaiba said in a stage whisper.

"You wanna say that again rich boy?!" Joey yelled, snarling at Kaiba.

"Please." Kaiba drawled, staring down his nose at the boy.

"Just make your move Joey." Sharleen said with a huge amount of exasperation in her voice.

"Alright, I will. I summon Mystical elf in defense mode and place one card face down. I end my turn."

"Pathetic."

"Seriously rich boy?!"

"Have your dick measuring contest later," Sharleen growled. She then slapped her hand over her mouth as she had forgotten her little brother was there. He looked at her with wide eyes and she made an apologetic face at him. Mokuba snickered behind her.

"I Summon Mermaid god to the field in attack mode. As my Majestic sea is in play, she gains 300 attack points bringing her total to 1800. I then activate her special ability, which allows her to attack twice in one turn! Attack his scapegoats!"

"I activate the De- spell trap card! "Joey said confidently, "This takes your Majestic Sea off the field, and your Mermaid god returns to your hand!"

After her Mermaid was removed from the field as she cannot survive without water, Sharleen shrugged and attacked his three scapegoats on the field. All he had left was his elf. But since she could not attack, she placed a card face down and ended her turn.

"Here we go!" Joey drew another card, and smiled. "I will follow your Ocean theme and play Island turtle in defense mode. I then activate the magic card, Change of heart! I now control your Meca Sea dragon!" He did a little skip as he celebrated what he thought was his cleverness.

"Fantastic. I activate my trap card known as Dark Hole. This destroys all monsters on the field, including my own. That cancels out any attack you were going to make. "He looked on dumbfounded as all the monsters on the field disappeared.

"Crap," he muttered. He had no more magic or trap cards and only had monster cards. He could not place a monster card on the field at this point. He was done for.

"Well, I have no choice but to end my turn." He said through gritted teeth.

"It was a more bracing duel than I thought it would be Joey," Sharleen said with a small smile, "But here is where it ends. I summon Aqua Force Mage (1200 atk) to the field. Attack Joey's life points directly!"

In a holographic spew of water from the monsters wand, Joey's life points reached 0. Jordan ran over to Sharleen, shouting, "Congratulations sissy! I love you!" She laughed and caught him up in her arms. "I love you too Squirt", she said, before kissing him on the tip of his nose, making him laugh. The crowd watched the display with amusement, indifference, and mild wistfulness. Mokuba looked at his brother, remembering when they were just like that. Kaiba, oblivious to his brother's stare, announced Sharleen as the winner.

"Sharleen is the winner. We will now begin the selection for the first official duel in the Battle City finals."

Everyone turned their attention to Kaiba as he gestured to his bodyguard, Roland, to start the Blue eyes white dragon lottery scene. Everyone focused on the machine, hoping they would be chosen to duel, while Sharleen hoped that she would not have to duel two duels in a row. She was tired and she could feel her brother's energy fading as it was well past his bedtime. Maybe, after the selection, she would make him go to sleep in her room before watching the round. After a moment, the machine assigned Yugi and some kid named Bukura as the first contenders in the first official match.

As she watched the two speak, she saw something strange happen. Yugi seemed to grow…taller…and leaner and…heck just looked different. _Wow,_ she thought as she watched them walk away, _I must be really tired._

As the others headed to the top of the blimp, Sharleen took her now sleeping brother to her room and laid him down on the bed. She tucked him in and kissed his forehead, before heading to the rooftop to watch the Battle city finals start.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note:

I do not own Yu gi Oh or its characters, just mine. I also do not own any of the duel monster cards mentioned save for the ones I made up. I am sure you can figure out which ones.

I did my best to keep the characters true to their, well, character. I am striving to make Sharleen a believable character and not a Mary-sue type. I used to duel in competitions when I was kid, and hope that I stayed true to the rules of the game, without bending any of them, except for the rules that were already bent in the show. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense.

This chapter may seem a little out of place. When you write from the point of view of a girl who has some serious issues, chapters tend to be disjointed when she is in what I like to call, depression haze.

* * *

 _Strange shit is going down tonight_ , Sharleen thought as she watched the duel that was unfolding on the stage. After putting Jordan down to sleep, and dealing with his mild hissy fit, she had made her way to the top of the blimp, just in time to see the stage go dark with a shimmery holographic mist. As she walked past the Kaiba brothers to get a better view, she caught a glimpse of gold out of the corner of her eye. Glimpsing sideways as she stopped between the Kaiba brothers and the strange group she had driven to the blimp with, she saw the very strange boy with a girly halter top holding a gold…well...rod behind his back. She could have sworn that she saw it glow. She quickly dismissed it as a side effect of the awesome graphics taking place on the dueling platform.

The kid, who did not look like a kid anymore, Yugi was struggling to stop Bukkura's spell card from spelling the word "final". The whole exercise looked like a futile one as there did not seem to be a way to stop the shadow deck the silver haired boy was employing. But, she supposed that if anyone could beat it, it would be the King of Games, or possibly Kaiba himself. As she watched Yugi work his way to victory, she was suddenly struck by how out of place she was in this tournament. These individuals, with the exception of Joey and possibly Namu, were all stars compared to her. Not for the first time she thought, _what am I doing here?_

She was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she did not see that the game was over until the platform made the undeniable sound of being lowered. She looked up to see Bukkura being transported to the medical bay and the other duelist beside themselves with worry. She quickly played back the scene she had been only half paying attention to. Bukkura had suddenly stopping being his ruthless self and had appeared to be a frail little boy asking for help. When Yugi attacked, he returned to his former self and was struck down…by a hologram…and was now being transported to the medical bay…what? _I really need to pay better attention,_ she thought. Surely that is not how it went down, and surely that girly looking Namu was not currently staring at her with the intensity of someone who knows someone else but cannot place their name to their face. Maybe it was because she had yet to follow the group back to the elevator. Yes, that must be it.

The trip to the main dorm rooms was a silent and shocked one. Sharleen felt out of place once again as she stood just behind the elder Kaiba and in front of Joey and his strange group of friends. As soon as the doors opened, that group bolted to the medical bay as Kaiba had called a short recess due to the injury of a duelist. With nothing else to do, Sharleen started toward her room to check on Jordan.

"Just a moment, Ms. Durest" a gritty voice said behind her. She turned and saw one of Kaiba's men behind her. When she raised her eyebrow he spoke again, "Mr. Kaiba would like to have a word with you."

She contemplated this odd request for a moment then shrugged. When he motioned for her to follow, she did, making her way to a room marked "1". Of course Kaiba would make himself the number one duelist on his ship. There was a time in her life when she would have agreed. Now she wasn't saying he wasn't a great duelist, because he was, oh hell, she didn't know what she was thinking as she waited in front of the door for the grand mister to open it. After a minute more, she was ready to leave, when the doors slide open and a rough voice said, "Enter".

As she entered the room, she saw Kaiba sitting in a chair with his deck of cards on the table in front of him. He was contemplating a card in his hand and the famous Blue Eyes White Dragon sitting on the table. She was distracted for a moment when she saw it. Ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted to see that card up close, and now she was as close as anyone but Kaiba had ever been to them. A clearing of a throat caught her attention and she looked up at her…host for lack of a better term. He raised an eyebrow as he gestured to the seat on the other side of the table. After a moment of contemplation, she shrugged and sat down.

"You're not much of a talker" he said in his normal dead pan voice.

"Back at you" she murmured, "Why am I here?"

"Was the duel not bracing enough for you?"

"What do you…"

"You were not paying attention." He interrupted impatiently.

"I have other things on my mind". She said with an edge to her voice. She hated to be interrupted.

"The best duelist pay attention to the competition. Aside from myself, Yugi is your biggest competition here."

'Are you giving me advice?" Sharleen asked, a little taken a back.

"No. I am warning you. I created this tournament for one purpose, to win. If you want even a small chance of victory, shape up."

She raised an eyebrow at this comment before asking, "Why did you invite me?"

Kaiba almost smiled. Almost. "Of all the fans to come visit my booth, you were the first and last one to leave an impression on me." This time he gave her a full blown smirk.

She damn near blushed when she remembered. _She had waited in line all morning to get that key chain signed and she was so close to the front of the line she could clearly see Seto Kaiba's blue eyes. She was so engrossed in staring at her idol, that she did not see the line move until a tall, burly girl wearing a "I love Kaiba" sweater shoved her forward yelling, "Move it runt!". She slammed into the edge of the signing table so hard it went scooting across the floor. Her momentum was such that she would have landed right in Kaiba's lap had he not reached out and grabbed her with both hands, deftly keeping her out of his lap and setting her roughly on her feet. She was so mortified when she looked up at him (even sitting he was taller than her), that she could barely squeak out an apology before she turned and ran like she had never ran before._

Back in the present, Sharleen looked at him, trying to ignore the blush creeping up her cheeks. "But how did you know who I was? I did not start dueling in circuits for real until several years after that."

"A man remembers a woman nearly dropping into his lap. Then ran away." He frowned at that last bit before continuing, "I saw you on a local news channel a few years later. Your red hair is unmistakable. I knew it was you. I started to follow your duels until you disappeared off the map a few years ago. I always wondered why."

Sharleen took a deep shaky breath before looking back into those penetrating blue eyes as she stood up to look down at him. "That's a personal matter".

He seem to contemplate that for a moment, before he too stood and crossed the distance between them until she had to strain her neck to continue to look him in the eyes. After a long awkward minute, he held up his hand, and out dropped the Blue Eyes key chain she had left behind so many years ago. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You kept it?"

"I signed it." He dropped it into her hand.

"Why?"

"Anything for a fan girl".

"Excuse me-"

Bang! Bang! Bang! They both swiveled their heads towards the door as an obnoxious voice demanded that Kaiba let him in. Kaiba sighed and muttered something about the dweeb patrol before scooping up his cards, tapping them into place, and heading for the door. With a hydraulic hiss, the doors opened and Joey waltzed in, demanding that Kaiba land the blimp so their friend could receive medical attention. After a few seconds of his ranting, Kaiba sat down in his chair and refused to land the blimp. Even after Serenity begged Kaiba to land the blimp, he refused. Sharleen became tired of this charade and interrupted.

"He was taken away in a stretcher yes?"

Everyone looked at her and Joey yelled, "yeah, so?"

"So, he was taken to a medical bay" silence filled the room. "With Doctors." She looked at Kaiba to confirm. He stood, walked past her, and confirmed over the intercom that a doctor was with Bukkura, before sitting back down. Joey just had an "oh" look on his face before he stammered out an apology.

"I don't need your apologies. Get lost." Kaiba sneered.

"That's it rich boy!" Two of the boys in the group snagged Joey before he pounced on Kaiba, while Kaiba remained calm and un-phased. "You and me, let's go!"

" I don't have time to play with puppies" Kaiba said, turning his face away from Joey.

"WHY YOU!"

"Would you shut up?" Sharleen half asked, half demanded, "You are making my ear drums bleed".

The crowed gaped at her in silence before Joey yelled, "What, are you his girlfriend or something?"

"You assume that I am his girlfriend because I defend a man who has boarded your friends, unexpectedly, on his blimp for free, and now has paid for your friend's medical needs while he is on board this ship, and has dealt with you invading his private space with a lot more grace than I would have? You say girlfriend. I say observant person. He could have asked you nicely to leave, I'll admit that much at least."

No one seemed to know what to say to that, but Kaiba was smirking at her, with almost a twinkle in his eyes. She had not seen that look on his face since she almost landed on his lap all those years ago. She had to look away from him and stared at her nails, as If she was bored.

"As much as I am enjoying this," Kaiba drawled in a bored voice, "We have the quarter finals to finish." He stood up to his full height. "Let's go." He pushed past the odd crowed and motioned for them to follow. Sharleen was the first to fall in step behind him. From the back of the room she could have sworn she heard someone mutter "fan girl". She just managed not to turn around and throw a punch.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note:

I do not own Yu gi Oh or its characters, just mine. I also do not own any of the duel monster cards mentioned save for the ones I made up. I am sure you can figure out which ones.

I did my best to keep the characters true to their, well, character. I am striving to make Sharleen a believable character and not a Mary-sue type. I used to duel in competitions when I was kid, and hope that I stayed true to the rules of the game, without bending any of them, except for the rules that were already bent in the show. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense.

The wind whipped her hair into a frenzy as she stood to one side of the duel stadium. The bitter cold of the rushing air around her reminded her that she was alive, she was here, and she was going to kick some ass. If her opponent showed up that is. Sharleen tapped her foot in annoyance as she waited for Marik, the weirdo in a long black cape to show up. When doors on his side of the arena finally opened she muttered, "Finally", before squaring her shoulders and facing him with a blank look. His face mirrored hers and to anyone watching, it looked like neither was concerned about the other's skills.

"Damn, Sharleen is one cool cucumber" she heard the one called Duke mutter.

"That may work to her advantage against this psycho", Tristian said in a hushed voice.

Briefly, Sharleen wondered what made Marik a psycho other than his interesting choice in fashion, but she did not have time to think about that when the duel was announced. Her mind shifted quickly to the game, and the little thrill she always felt when she was facing an opponent came back with a vengeance. This one, she could tell that this duel was going to test her like no other duel had, and she was excited. Her eyes were bright and even with a blank expression, the man before her could see her anticipation.

"You should forfeit now. Then you will not lose that spark" he said.

"Are you concerned? Sweet. Let's just…." She stopped when she saw the golden rod in his hand. She blinked at it, then realized where she had seen that thing before. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Namu standing behind the group with his hand behind his back. _This is weird,_ she thought.

"Do this" she finished looking back at Marik. His eyes widened and he must have put two and two together.

"You are going to wish you were not so observant" he said menacingly.

"What are they talking about big brother?" Mokuba asked. Without looking at his younger brother, Kaiba shrugged.

" I don't really care. I just want to see how the Ocean Master fairs against an Egyptian god card. At the very least, I'll get to see how this card works so I can take it for myself."

 _A compliment and an insult all rolled in one. Lucky me._ Sharleen thought. Out loud she said.

"It's time to duel", before placing her deck in its slot.

"Yes," Said Marik, "We shall duel. I shall destroy you!"

"I swear each opponent I face become more and more melodramatic" she said in a bored you-can't-scare-me-bitch voice. "Ladies first then." She drew a card and glanced down at it as the crowed below yelled words of encouragement and warning. Yugi was telling her to be careful and she had no idea what Tea was saying. She had already tuned them out.

"Summon Grandfather Beta in defense mode (200 atk/2000 defense), and place a card face down. Your move."

"I'll play Temple of the Kings" Marik said, placing the card in a slot on the side of his disk, " This card is like none you have ever seen!

As a monstrous, ugly temple ascended from the "ground", the whole plat form shook. Sharleen had to hand it to Kaiba, he really knew how to make a game feel realistic. She could guess, from the name of the card and the fact that she was an archology buff, that this temple represented one that housed a Pharaoh or a king. Normally, a pharaoh or king would be placed there along with treasures and curses. She racked her brain as the hologram completed its grand entrance for the ability of this card, but she could not remember if she had ever heard of it before. _Damn I am rusty,_ she thought, _I used to have ALL the cards memorized._

Almost in answer to her thoughts, Marik said, "This card limits the amount of Trap and magic cards you can play in one turn. Now, I lay two cards face down to protect my life points. I end my turn,"

"Groovy." Sharleen drew another card and scanned her hand before making her next move. She knew he wanted her to attack him. Why else place two cards face down and not summon a monster?

"Activate Mystical typhoon to wipe away your Temple of Kings" before Sharleen could finish that sentence, Marik activated a magic card to counteract her magic card. His temple stood and she was back to square one.

"Alright. I activate Majestic sea". No sooner had the words left her mouth, did the platform seem to be submerged in a wave of shimmering blue water that seemed to darken as it reached the bottom of the Temples steps. Kaiba Corporation had really put a lot of work and thought into those holograms. The temple even reflected off the water and seemed darker, more ominous than before. Was there a black, inkiness to the water around the base of the temple? Was it growing? Sharleen thought she must be imagining things. In front of her, Grandfather Beta began to sing.

"What's it doing?" Joey asked, a little in awe, a little in confusion.

"it's pretty!" Serenity said, clapping her hands.

"Why is it singing?" Marik asked her, glaring.

"Because he loves your smiling face" she said, rising a mocking eyebrow. "I summon Mermaid god, in attack mode. Because Majestic sea is in play, she gains an additional 300 attack points. In addition, because Grandfather Beta is happy and singing, she gains another 300 attack points for a total of 2100 attack points. Now, Mermaid god, attack his life points directly".

"Not so fast! I Activate Dutchman of Anubis! Every monster you have on the field will be eliminated. Half of their attack points will be deducted from your life points! Anubis, destroy!"

An eerie purple mist shot from the dog creatures' mouth and pierced her monsters. The mist flew past her and actually made her hair stand up. The zipper of her jacket smacked against her stomach and she felt herself rock back slightly. _Huh. Did Kaiba install fans up here?_ She wondered as 1050 life points were deducted from her score.

"Hey! Your grandfather Beta is still standing!" Marik shouted, outraged.

"Well," Sharleen said, brushing imaginary dust off her powder blue jacket, "he is a fish, so he doesn't stand," she heard someone in the crowd snort, "and he is a fish so, can you guess where he went when you attacked?"

"He, he swam under the water!" Marik guessed, sounding kind of pissed off.

"Yes. He does that. And each time he comes back up, well. See for yourself" she said, clearly enjoying his reaction when he observed that Grandfather Beta was bigger and more colorful than before. He was also singing louder.

"What does this mean?" Marik demanded.

She shrugged. "You'll see".

"I place two more cards face down and end my turn." Marik said, all huffy and angry.

"Cool beans," she said has she drew another card. "I place one card face down and Summon Maiden of Aqua to the field in defense mode. Her defense points increase by 400 thanks to Grandfather Beta for a total of 2400 points. I end my turn."

"She's playing it really safe," Mokuba said, glancing up to his brother. "Is she scared to attack?"

After a moment of thought, Kaiba said, "No. he's stalling. Placing several trap or magic cards on the field with no monsters in sight. He will quickly run out of spaces on his duel disk and will have to either play one of those cards, activate a monster card, discard a face down card and make a real move, or forfeit. If I am not mistaken, this is her way of subtly telling him to stop being a pansy".

"Do you think that's what she is doing Yugi?" Joey asked the smaller boy who was gazing at Sharleen with wide, curious eyes.

"She could be…she's hard to read." He said quietly, almost like that unsettled him.

On the platform, a voice carried over the crowd and hushed them. "I end my turn without making a move" Marik said smugly.

 _He's trying to force me to attack._ Unperturbed, Sharleen drew another card. "I play Lord of Aqua in defense mode. Grandfather Beta gives him 400 defensive points for a total of 2700 points. Since Lord and Maiden of Aqua are on the field, I can summon Mecha Sea Dragon to the field as well. Majestic sea gives him a 300 point boost while Grandfather Beta gives him a 400 point boost for a total of 3000 life points. I end my turn."

Marik shrugged and pulled another card. "This card will not due. I lay a card face down and end my turn".

Sharleen sighed. She was going to have to force his hand. But at what cost? His side of the field was filled with magic and trap cards, and there was his temple to consider. She decided she was going to have to risk it.

"Summon Oceans Keeper to the field. He gains 700 life points automatically for a total of 2200 attack points. Oceans Keeper, attack his life points directly!"

Yugi yelled at her to stop her attack, but she ignored him. She had to draw out Marik somehow, and make him use up some of those cards on the field. This game was starting to bore the crap out of her anyway.

"I activate Eye of Ugon! " a large eye appeared on Ocean Keepers forehead and the fish switched it's attack position and turned on her. " I have control of it! Now, attack her Maiden of the Aqua!"

"I activate my Water Mirror force trap card. This bounces that attack right back at you!" Sharleen said, a little smugly.

"Not so fast! I activate negate attack!" _Damn,_ she thought, _So close._ "In addition," he continued, " Your attack activated my trap monster card! Embodiment of Apophis!"

This was not a card that anyone seemed to have heard of and it was again disturbing to Sharleen that she had never heard of that card before. She supposed she should not be so hard on herself as she had been out of the game for a while. No one expected her to know all the damn cards, but still. A Trap and a monster card? What the fuck. When two more of his Apophis whatever cards activated, she was visibly stunned. Her mask of passivity slipped. For a moment, everyone saw her fear before she crammed the mask back on so hard that if it had been real, she would have bruised herself.

"That's right, your fear feeds them! Come forth my beasts!" Marik shouted with a dramatic sweep of his arm. Sharleen had to remind herself to breath as three terrible looking creatures slithered out of a purple mist and stood before her.

"You are forgetting something baldie. My monsters are still stronger."

"True. That's why I play my swords of revealing light!" her monsters were encased in several light swords. "Your move!"

As Sharleen drew another card, she contemplated her next move. There was only one monster in her deck that was stronger than Meca sea monster was now with all of his power boosts, but she couldn't summon it, obviously, until it was in her hand. She really had no choice but to put a card face down and end her turn.

"Giving up?" Marik mocked as he drew a card. Before she could make a retort, she observed the shocked look on his face and his sideways glance to the girly boy, Namu. _Are they in a secret golden rod club or something?_ She wondered, cocking her head to the side as she studied the two, _and why is he so shocked? Did he not expect that card to be in his…ah. Namu slipped a card in his deck. Marik looks almost…scared of it. That's silly though. It's a card! That or he's afraid of being disqualified for cheating? That might be it._

Marik seemed to snap out of it and simply stated, "I seal this card I drew in the scared ark on the Temple steps! By sealing the card of the gods in the ark, I have sealed your fate! That ends my turn!"

The crowd behind her buzzed. Yugi looked like an older…taller…more worried version of himself. The others were not sure how to react and Kaiba looked almost excited. He had a small smile on his face. _Oh geez. Every time he smiles, a puppy dies._ Sharleen thought, then had to hold her breath to keep from laughing. What was everyone freaking out about? It's a damn card.

"Alright then." Sharleen drew a card and smiled. "I sacrifice my Mecha Sea dragon and my Grandfather Beta to Summon Levba Dragon of the sea. (3200 attack/ 2000 defense). Although Grandfather Beta is not around, he still gains 300 attack points from my magic card. Levba, attack his Apophis!"

As the monster was obliterated, Mariks attack points lowered to 2400, leaving them almost even in life points. (Sharleen is still at 2950). She ended her turn as the swords were still in effect until her next turn. Then, if he did not make a decent move soon, she would destroy him. When she looked over at Marik, he seemed to be having an internal debate. He had a mired of emotions flashing across his face as if he was scared of his next move. That made Sharleen worry a little. What card had he placed in the ark that even he did not want to play.

"Hey! Are you going to stare at you wand twin all day or are you going to play?" She asked callously.

"Wand twin? Who's she talk'n about?" Joey asked a bewildered Yugi.

"I don't know, Joey."

"I don't know either and I don't care. Make a move Marik or get out of my tournament!" Kaiba said, fed up with all the pauses.

"Yes, I will do that." He seemed to gather himself for a moment, before he gave her the nastiest look anyone had ever given her at this point in her life. "Prepare to see an ancient power unlike anything you have ever seen before and will ever see again!" he pointed the golden rod at her dramatically, "I Sacrifice my remaining monsters to activate the ark and release a creature that will burn it's self into your vary soul!" He turned toward the ark and shouted, "Ancient one, hear my call! I now offer up my beasts, along with half my life points, to release thee! Come forth my Winged Dragon and reveal your awesome strength in the name of the next great Pharaoh, King Marik!"

His monsters seemed to shatter into a million pieces. The crowd gasped, Kaiba looked like he was getting the best head of his life, and Sharleen was feeling a deep fear that told her to run with everything that she had, and to never, ever, look back. She locked her legs and stared defiantly at the green mist emitting from the glowing ark. She almost did run when an incredibly large, majestic creature rose up, shining with a million different shades of gold and copper. The iridescent glow caused her to shield her eyes and the power it emitted caused her sneakers to slip on the plat form. As she gazed up at it, she felt a rage emitting from it. It was, indignant, righteous, and bottomless in knowledge and power. It personified hunger, greed, guilt, happiness, love, fear, war, and peace. She fell to her knees in front of such a creature, never blinking, and never looking away. She saw nothing but it's face, felt nothing but its terrible anger, and did not see the lightning bolt headed her way until she was struck down, and all was darkness.

The next event to take place was everlasting white. She was floating on a sea of white that caressed her all around. She felt at peace. Wherever she was, she was at peace, for the first time in a while. A voice called out to her, softly at first, but as it grew louder, she whooped with happiness.

"Davie!" She shouted, looking all around for him. "Where are you?"

"Sissy…no…sissy…you must go."

"What? No. I-I, where are you?"

"Where you need not be now."

"Davie, please. I can't any more. I miss you, I miss you so much!"

The white void was silent for a time, before her beloved brother spoke again, "I love you. I miss you too. It hurts me to tell you to leave, but you must. You MUST. It's not your time. Jordan needs you. Daddy needs you. Kaiba needs you."

"Kaiba?"

"Oops, "a giggle sounded in the air. "Spoilers."

"What…Davie…" Sharleen was at a loss for words.

The giggling subsided. "Please, you have to go back. Go back to him. I'll see you at a much later date. I love you."

She felt an awful feeling in her chest, like it was being crushed over and over again, and she was rapidly being pulled to a land of pain, fear, and one without her brother she swore to protect.

"SISSY!" a shrill voice called to her. It was. Jordan!

"Go." Davie whispered as the pain in her chest increased. "He needs you to be to him what you were to me. Stop chasing ghosts. Love what you have."

"I do love him!" She protested, wheezing as a forced gust of wind filled her lungs.

"Then go to him."

"I love you Davie."

"SISSY! SISSY! Please! Save her! Please!"

"I love you too sissy."

All at once, the world of white disappeared, and Sharleen was coughing and clenching someone's hands, struggling to breathe. She blinked a few times to see Jordan, with tears streaming down his face, peering at her. His face lit up when she looked at him, and more love than she had ever felt for him filled her. Jordan shrieked in happiness and hugged the other person kneeling beside her. Kaiba! Her brother was hugging Kaiba, and he was…clutching his hands. She let go immediately, trying not to blush.

"You saved her!" Jordan shouted in the poor guys ear, "You saved her!" he shouted again, hugging Kaiba tighter.

"I couldn't let a duelist die. Your heart stopped, "he said at her confused look, "So I restarted it. Now get up. If you make it up before Odeon, you're the winner. No one help her."

"Who," she asked as she stood up and Kaiba detangled her brother from his neck, "the hell," she managed to get into a crouching position and pushed herself to her feet, "is Odeon?"

As she struggled to walk to the medical bay at everyone's instance that she be checked out, Mokuba informed her that Marik was really Namu, and Odeon was Mariks brother. Odeon, who was being transported a head of them, had played a fake Dragon of Ra card that had triggered a malfunction (Kaiba's words) or magical shit storm (Modified version of Yugis words) that had injured them.

"But why pretend to be Marik? I thought it was weird that those two had the same rod. Are they part of a cult?" She asked as she sat down at a checkup table.

"In a way, yes." Yugi said, and looked like he was about to say more, when the doctor shooed everyone away. They reluctantly left, telling her to come by if she needed anything, while Kaiba set her still clingy brother beside her on the table, then sat down on a couch.

"I thought the doctor told you to scram? And I thought I told you to go to sleep monster". She said directing the last part at her brother.

"I did. Then I didn't". Jordan said, salty as ever.

"Go to bed. Take the key card and go to the room." Sharleen said, pulling it out of her pants pocket and handing it to him.

"Come on! I just wanted to see you duel! I was there the whole…" he closed his mouth but it was too late.

She sighed and ruffled his hair. "You got what you wanted then. I'll tell you how I am doing when I get back to the room. Go. To. Bed." She ordered firmly. He made several protests before finally doing as she bid him. He left the room grumbling. Kaiba watched the entire exchange in silence and a little bit of amusement. Now, he watched silently as the doctor took her blood pressure, listed to her heart, and checked her skin for burn marks.

"You never answered my question," she said, looking at Kaiba. He raised an eyebrow at her. "You were told to leave too."

Kaiba snorted. "As you said earlier, this is my ship and my money. My employees don't tell me what to do."

"You are going to be fine. However, you have a heart murmur that has been exasperated by the shock and resuscitation. You need to relax for a few days." The doctor said kindly, interrupting their staring contest that Kaiba was about to win.

"Can she duel?" Kaiba asked, dead pan voice in place.

"I recommend that she doesn't for a few days."

"Not going to happen doc. What's the worse that can happen if I do?" Sharleen asked.

"Heart failure".

Kaiba huffed at the doctor and shot him a deadly look. The poor old man mumbled something along the lines of, "do as you will", and scurried out the door to check on his patient in the other room, leaving them alone.

"Well," Sharleen said, to break the silence, "if that happens, you can always give me CPR again".

Kaiba gave her a look she was not sure how to interpret. He stood and walked over to her. Even sitting on the table, she had to crane her neck to keep looking at his face. His handsome, scowling, perplexed face.

"What?" she asked, trying to scoot back on the table.

"You said my name."

"When?"

"When I was giving you CPR. You said my name."

"That's silly. I couldn't say your name if I couldn't breathe."

"You started to breathe several times. I gave you CPR four times. You said my name. You also said Davie. Who is that?" He looked livid. And Sharleen was not sure how to take that. Why was he angry? Was it because he had to kneel beside a lesser and give them CPR? Why did he do it? He must have people who could have done if for him. Was he mad that she apparently said his name?

"Who is he?" Kaiba asked again, with more edge to his voice. _Is he…jealous? No. No way._

"Not that it's any of your business…he was my brother. I was talking to him…I think." Her mind was getting fuzzy on the details. It all felt like a distant dream.

"How was I involved?" he asked, visibly calmer.

"I…maybe I saw you before I stopped breathing again and was reacting to that?" she offered lamely.

"That wasn't what you were reacting to." His eyes fell to her lips. "that wasn't what you were reacting to at all."

"I have to go check on Jordan" she said, trying to hop off the table without touching him. He was standing way to close. His hands settled on either side of her bod, stopping her from getting off the table. When she looked up at him, she gasped, He was so close that her lips had nearly brushed his when she moved. They stayed like that for a while, with neither of them moving, neither of them breaking eye contact. Finally, Kaiba backed off and let her get down,. The room was silent as she gathered her jacket and turned to go. She heard him mutter something along the lines of "Damn it", before she was spun around, backed against the wall and kissed so thoroughly she felt her heart skip a couple of beats. The kiss was short, but possibly the hottest kiss of her life. As suddenly as the kiss began, it stopped as Kaiba let her go, pushed the button, and briskly walked out the door, never looking back.


	6. Chapter 6

_A man? When did I ever think he was a man? Only a boy would do that and stomp away,_ Sharleen thought as she walked from the medical bay to her room. His lips were still a burning impression on hers. As she touched them with shaky fingers, she wondered what the hell had prompted him to do that. She did not think that she had done anything to elicit that type of response. She played the day over in her mind and could find no reason for his incredibly abrupt interest in her. Sure, he had invited her personally to attend his tournament, but then again, were not all the invites personal-ish? When she had first made eye contact with him that day, he had glared at her. Then he had tried to intimidate her outside her room. In the break room area, he had been almost nice when he had given her his phone, then he was almost flirty when he invited her to his room. He had even teased her, unprompted, about falling into his lap. After giving her CPR, he then kissed her. Her mind was spinning. _Maybe it's that thing where the caregiver falls for the person they helped?_ She wondered. She discarded that notion with a verbal snort. Kaiba was not that type of person. So why the hell had he done it? Why was he acting like a two year-old after? _I'll never understand boys,_ she thought, exasperated.

She knocked on the door to her bedroom, knowing full well that Jordan was awake. Before the doors had fully opened, he wiggled through them and jumped into her arms.

"Is it duel time again?" He shouted.

"No, it's bed time."

"Awwwwwwww, come on!"

'Bed." She said firmly.

He grumbled and whined, but eventually Jordan feel asleep to the sound of Sharleen's soothing lullaby. She eased him off her and tucked him into bed. He sprawled there, making little cooing noises as he breathed in and out. She watched him sleep for a few minutes, letting the quiet of the moment wash over her. Finally, she went to the window to stare out at the night. Domino City was starting to fade into the distance, but it was still a beautiful sight to behold. It sparkled, glowed, and seemed to have a life of its own. As she stood there, she contemplated joining the other duelist, and waffled several times on whether or not she wanted to watch other duels. It would be beneficial if she did, however she was pretty damn tired after being struck by a freaking bolt of lightning. _Magic boltzzzz,_ she thought sarcastically, remembering Yugi's odd account of the events that took place during her duel. She was still debating with herself when an announcement was made over the loud speakers that all duelists were due to attend the lottery process. This of course woke Jordan up.

"Duel time" he murmured sleepily.

"Sleep time" she said quietly.

Finally, she decided that she would take a nap until she heard the announcement for the players to return to the lottery system once again. She scooted Jordan over, laid down, and slipped into a deep sleep.

A knocking at her door woke her up an hour later, and she sat up looking and feeling groggy. Stumbling up, she slowly walked to the door and opened it. Duelist number 9, who had been missing in action, was standing outside her door. At least she hoped it was the lost duelist. If not, Kaiba had an interesting female uniform design.

"Yes?" she asked, yawing behind her hand.

"You are going to want to see Kaiba duel tonight," the girl said, laying her hand on her necklace, "Destiny has foreseen it."

"Destiny wants me to watch Kaiba duel against…you? I assume?"

"Yes. I am Ishzu Ishtar and my necklace gives me the power to see the future."

"Un huh. Why, pray tell, would I need to be there?"

"He will need you after he loses."

"That makes no frigging sense," Sharleen growled, incredulous, "Why the hell would he need me? And why do you think you will win…never mind." She rolled her eyes at the necklace. "I'll think about it."

Before the girl could speak again, Sharleen closed the door and muttered, "You looked so shocked. Did you foresee that move?"

Behind her, Jordan tugged on her pant leg, making her jump.

"Sorry sissy," he said as his eyes widened at how high and hard she had jumped, "I want to see Mr. Kaiba duel. Please!" he tacked on the last part when he saw that she was about to protest.

Being too tired to protest, Sharleen just snagged on of her extra jackets from her bag, wrapped him up in it, which made him giggle, and carried him to the elevator to see "Mr. Kaiba" apparently lose a duel with destiny.

Once they were on the top of the blimp, Sharleen and Jordan took the corner that the Kaiba brothers had been standing at earlier, and waited for the strange girl to show up. Kaiba was tapping his foot in response to the annoyance of having to wait for his opponent. The tapping stopped when he saw Sharleen, and he looked away from her pointedly. She huffed at that, then turned her attention to Ishzu as she entered the arena.


End file.
